Everything Else
by Detective Broadway
Summary: AU. Jane Rizzoli is an ordinary high school student with a troubling family life, her only escape is doing what she does best, playing the piano; when Maura stumbles upon Jane playing in the school auditorium will friendship blossom?
1. Prologue

Everything Else

**A/N Hello, this is a new story written by myself, with a bit of input and editing by Captain Symmetry. This is very loosely based on the song Everything Else from Next To Normal. **

**If you could review, that'd be epic as then I'd know you actually like it and continue it. :) **

**Enjoy, x.**

Chapter 1 ; Sanctuary

She couldn't take it anymore, she had to leave. _Just leave baby, you don't need to see this,_ those words echoed in her head. Her mother had spoken them, helpless and guilty. She couldn't bear to see her children see them fight. Images of her parents fighting flooded her mind, smothering her conscience. The same conscience that was full of cliché self-questions that a teenager would ask themselves - _was it my fault? Did I cause this? Could I have prevented it? _Of course, Jane blamed herself even though she knew that it wasn't her fault. Either way, she had to keep herself composed, be strong for her brothers and her friends. She wouldn't show how much it actually affected her, how much her heart ached.

-x-

_20 minutes earlier._

_Her brothers were still asleep, somehow sleeping through the uproar. But then again, Jane was a light sleeper. She had woken to a sound she presumed was some sort of dish or glass cup smashing on the kitchen tiles. Crawling out of bed, she cracked the bedroom door open slightly, peering out into the kitchen. She could see both of her parents, waving their hands and shouting like typical Italians. She didn't believe what she was seeing; no, she didn't want to believe it. Her parents' marriage was rock solid; they were perfect for each other. Jane's mother paused, glancing at her daughter's bedroom door during her heated discussion, stopping and staring, realising that they had woken and upset Jane._

_"What the hell Angela? Don't ignore me; you can't just stop in the middle of this!" Frank Rizzoli followed his wife's stare, finding the hurt and confused face of his beloved daughter. Angela spoke up again, this time directing her words towards her daughter, her voice no longer holding the sharp, poisonous qualities of before, but shaking and cracking._

_"Just leave baby, you don't need to see this. Go get ready for school, and then leave, ok?" Her mother spoke slowly, through her anger and tears. Jane simply nodded, and closed her door to get ready as quickly as possible for school. _

-x-

Jane was briskly walking to school, hands shoved in her hoodie's pockets. Rain was pelting down, and Jane could've sworn it was hailing. Her shoes, clothes and school bag were slowly getting drenched, but she didn't care; she was almost at school. _I'm never this early for school, school starts in like 40 minutes, and I'll be there in 5… fuck my life._

Jane entered the school's gates and quickly sought to seek refuge in her safe place until classes started. She walked, head down, earphones in ears and blocking out the world. Jane made it to the school auditorium; it was unlocked. She made her was up the isles and onto the stage, checking the time. _8:25am_ _- still got 35 minutes_. Taking her earphones out and letting them hang out her shirt, she dropped her bag down on the ground next to the stool. Jane sat down at the piano - it was a Kawai RX7 Grand Piano; ebony polish. Lifting the lid, she took a deep breath.

_Such a safe place this is, a place where I can be whatever and whoever I want, and where everything else goes away. _

Reaching into her bag, Jane pulled out a score and placed it on the sheet holder. Fingers to keys, Jane played the sonata presented in front of her. Piano sonata no.6, Mozart_. They say he was crazy_.  
>When Jane finished performing for an imaginary audience, she flexed her arms and hands, which ached severely. She checked the time on her phone - <em>8:50am. Shit. <em>As Jane gathered her sheet music and packed it away, a noise was heard. She looked in its direction, towards the auditorium door. _Was someone in here? No, maybe someone just accidently knocked it, it could have been the wind, or maybe it wasn't the door at all… Oh gosh, I'm going crazy. _She made her way up the isle towards the door. _Just like Mozart. I hate Mondays._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hello there. This chapter is longer than the first, don't worry! Thank you to everyone following this story and to those who reviewed. This has been Beta'd by Captain Symmetry. Hopefully this chapter is ok; let me know what you think with a review - it only takes a moment. Also, feel free to make suggestions on what you'd like to see within the next chapters. **

**Enjoy, xo.**

Jane walked out of the auditorium, head down, hands pushed in pockets and eyebrows furrowed. She put an earphone in, music still playing loudly from before; she only just heard her name being called out.

"Wait up! Excuse me! Hey!"The projections began to near Jane with every phrase. She turned to view a somewhat familiar face; one that she doesn't usually associate with, but knows.

"Um, hi there… um… "Jane pulled her earphone out and pointed at the girl, trying to conjure up her name.

"Maura-"

"Maura, yeah. I knew that, I just couldn't remember. I usually don't care for popular people." Jane shrugged her shoulders. _Maura Isles; captain of the cheerleading squad, absolute genius. Her IQ is like 150, and she's the definition of perfection. The other cheerleaders only treat her nicely because she's the captain, but rumours say she's socially retarded or something._

"Oh, I see. Well, I just wanted to say that I um… I happened to come across you playing the piano in the school's auditorium. You know, the word 'piano' comes from the Italian word 'pianoforte'. The musical terms "piano" and "forte" mean "quiet" and "loud," and in this context refers to the variations in volume of sound the instrument produces in response to a pianist's touch on the keys: the greater a key press's velocity, the greater the force of the hammer hitting the strings, and the louder the note produced." Maura offered a smile, Jane just stared.

"Oh, ok. Thankyou for the lesson, Miss Google. I'll be sure to remember that… And just for the record, nobody outside of my family have seen or heard me play before, so just don't go telling your little cheerleading friends about my hobbies, ok?" Jane raised her eyebrows at Maura, who looked a little confused. "So tell me, Maura; why is someone like you, talking to someone like me?"

"I'm sorry; I don't think I understand… Person like you and me?" Her eyebrows knitted together.

"You know, you're popular, I'm a loser. Cliché stuff like that. "Bbbzzzzzzzzz_. _The bell rang. "There's the bell, I better get going… "Jane turned and walked in the opposite direction to her classroom.

"Jane!" Maura called, Jane stilled. "You have an amazing talent." Jane smiled to herself and slightly shook her head, resuming walking back to her classroom. Maura looked on for a moment before walking to her own classroom.

-x-

"MAURA! I have a bone to pick with you!" Elle McIntyre, _almost_ cheer captain, IQ of around 70, all but screeched in her shrill and squeaky voice as she strutted towards her friend, who was seated by herself in first period class.

"Yes?" Maura looked at Elle expectantly.

"Did I see you talking to who I _think_ I saw you talking to this morning?" She sat down next to Maura, putting her bag on the table and crossing her arms.

"I'm not sure; I talked to ample amounts of people today. Could you specify for me?"

"You know who! Roly-Poly Rizzoli… ugh." She pulled a disgusted face.

"I don't know why people call her that, she's not even overweight. If you were to consider things, she'd be somewhat just underweight. Judging by her height to waist ratio that is… "Maura started to look off into the distance, quieting and working things out in her head before Elle disrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah whatever, I don't care about her ratio or whatever. Just, don't talk to her. It's weird, and it'll ruin your rep." Elle turned to the front of the class, and so did Maura as the teacher walked in. Maura didn't know what to think anymore; she felt so conflicted, all the time. _Every time I talk to someone that's not in our immediate group - it's bad for my rep and I shouldn't do it. Every time I do something new that's not what 'we do' - it's bad for my rep and I shouldn't do it. Every time I do something that __**she's **__not ok with - it's bad for my rep and I shouldn't do it. If it's bad for my rep and I shouldn't do it and I do it again, I'm basically warned that I'll be kicked out from that group and everything I've worked for - aka, cheer captain. _

During class, Maura mentally debated herself. She wanted to talk to one Jane Rizzoli again, but she was afraid Elle and her friends would find out. Elle was meant to be her best friend, but in all honesty, she treated her appallingly. Maura was confused, she wondered what would happen if she was kicked out of her circle of friends. Where would she go? She's never had another circle of friends. In freshman year, she was instantly adopted into the group of popular kids just because she was rich; she's never known any different. She'd made up her mind; she was going to talk to Jane, she didn't care what her friends thought. _Under all that hostility, she must be nice,_ Maura thought.

-x-

_Second period, when will this hellish scene end? _Jane stared blankly at the chalkboard out the front of the classroom as the rest of the room engaged in a class discussion with the teacher, who was drawing diagrams and such to power her statements. _ I hate this class, I hate geography. All this teacher ever does is __**have **__class discussions. I'll be damned if I've even learnt anything. I'm pretty sure I haven't, because all she does is sit and talk and half the class isn't listening and she's so oblivious and ugh- I HATE THIS CLASS! BRING ON RECESS! _Jane inconspicuously pulled out her phone to check the time. _9.50. Fuck yes, five minutes to go._

_-_x_-_

_Bbbzzzzzzzzz. _

Jane took off straight away, not having to pack anything away because in that class all she did was sit and stare; everyone did. She took off to her safe place, to where she was this morning. _I have a feeling I'm going to be in here at lunch, also. _Going onto the stage again, she sat at the bench, and she pulled out a peanut butter and fluff sandwich.

"Odio la mia vita." She spoke under her breath to herself and sighed a sigh of discontent.

Maura walked out of Science class - her favourite class - and walked just inside the cafeteria doors, searching for one Jane Rizzoli. There was no sight of her, but she did spot her own group who didn't seem to be missing her presence. Maura turned and walked out of the cafeteria and towards the auditorium.

Upon arrival, she opened the doors as quietly as possible, as to not alert Jane of her presence; _if Jane is in here, that is. _Maura softly closed the door behind her, and slinked down into the closest seat. Looking to the stage, she spotted Jane. _She must've just finished eating… Oh joy, she's going to play now. _

Just as Maura had predicted, Jane reached into her bag again and pulled out a thick, teal folder. Maura wasn't sure of what compositions lay in the folder, but waited expectantly to hear her play, knowing whatever she played would be brilliant.

_Let's see what I've got in here… _Jane opened her folder and went through each composition piece in her head. _Hope by Idina Menzel, Ordinary People by John Legend, Somebody To Watch Over Me by George Gershwin, and I've got the chords to I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry - haha. _Jane chuckled to herself. _Oh, and there's Faeiries Aire and Death Waltz - ha, like I'll ever learn to play that. Ok, yeah I'll play John Legend, then Idina and then George. _

Jane turned the page to Ordinary People. She positioned herself properly on the stool, flexing her fingers and taking a deep breath. Opening the lid of the piano, she put fingers to keys and played.

Maura couldn't believe the beauty in these pieces. She'd always found them so beautiful; her parents would often take her to classical music concerts and operas; though Maura never had anyone to relate to with her undying love of musical compositions. How she played, how stunning she looked and how magnificent the score sounded echoing in the auditorium made her feel at ease, for once.


	3. Going Crazy

**A/N. Hello again! Hopefully this chapter does justice to the rest of the story. Review and tell me if I'm doing ok? I love feedback. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and such.**

**Enjoy, xo.**

-x-

_Bbbzzzzzzzzz. _

_Oh crap_, Maura thought to herself. _I have to leave very inconspicuously before Jane sees me_. Maura waited til the right moment to up and leave - that moment being when Jane packed her sheets away in her bag. Maura quickly tiptoed out of the auditorium, making sure as to not make a sound when opening and closing the door.

Although, when you're in an empty auditorium, every small noise is a loud one. Jane looked up towards the auditorium doors, where she could've sworn she'd heard a noise. "Hello? Anyone here?" Jane shook her head_. It's just my imagination. I'm slowly going crazy, methinks._ "Better get going. Oh, and now I'm talking to myself. I'm definitely going crazy." She muttered to herself.

Walking in the busy corridor amongst her peers, Jane suddenly regained the feeling she felt all day, that went away while she played; anger. Clenching her fists, grinding her teeth and giving death eyes to people - _wow, I must look __**super**__ friendly today. I wonder where Frankie or Tommy is. _Just as quickly as she'd thought it, she spotted her two younger brothers - who were in the same year, both juniors - and thought of a plan she knew only Tommy would be game for.

"Hey, Frankie! Tommy!" Jane called in the corridor whilst making her way to them.

"Hey sis!" They shouted in unison, turning to look at each other and pulling a face that read 'Holy crap, we just said the same thing. This is so cool!' Jane met up with them and shook her head at them, cracking a smile at them.

"Yeah, hey. Listen, what do you two have now? Anything you don't… particularly want to go to?" Jane voice hushed down, trying to keep from other students hearing. _Not that they'd care. _

"Jane, no. I'm going to class, bye guys." Frankie spluttered out, averting his siblings' gazes and walking past them to class.

"I'm in. Let's go," Tommy gave Jane a high five and they paced quickly towards their clubs' room. "So, you don't usually do this Jane. Is this because of…? Because of, well. You know-"

"Ma and Pa? Well, I mean- yeah they just- I'm just so angry and upset and- what's going to happen with them? They've never fought this bad before."

"I don't know, sis. But I'm sure they'll be fine. Their marriage is strong. They're Rizzoli's, and so are we," he patted Jane on the back. "We're strong." They reached the room and strode in, closing the door quietly behind them. They instantly started the search for the chess club's equipment. "Here's the board, and the pieces are under it. Can you grab that for me? Thanks."

Jane did as instructed and gathered the large, blue velvet bag of chess pieces and brang it over to the table in the middle of the room, where Tommy had already set up the board. She placed the bag down and then reached inside the bag before her brother.

"I DIBS THE BLACK PIECES!" Jane yelled, and then realising she probably shouldn't have, seeing as they weren't even meant to be there.

"Why? What's so cool about black?" Tommy rolled his eyes.

"You know, black to represent death. Death is _so_ cool. No, I just like the colour black, in case you haven't noticed." She motioned to her clothes - black skinny jeans, black converse and a black shirt with a white staff with white notes on it.

"Oh, yeah I haven't noticed. But thanks for pointing it out, now I know." They both giggled and started to place the pieces on the board.

-x-

"So, um, where were you at recess? Because you weren't with us." Elle berated her friend. _Well done, I'm so glad that you realised_ Maura thought to herself.

"I was, busy."

"Busy, busy doing what? OH! Let me guess, you were talking to Roly Poly Rizzoli, weren't you?" She poked her finger into Maura's shoulder a little harder than necessary. _She knows I can't lie. What do I tell her? _

"No, I was not interacting with Jane." _Now hopefully she drops the subject. _

"Oh. Then, where were you?"

"Sitting, by myself. I just wanted to sit by myself for once, not sitting next to anyone. That's all." _Please, drop the subject. _

"I see, well whatever."

The rest of the lesson - History - for Maura was spent avoiding conversation with her supposed best friend, and caring about American History. For Maura, this wasn't actually a challenge, as she loved all classes and school in general. Well, not so much the socialising bit - her small circle of friends had deemed her 'socially retarded' and 'lucky to have friends like them to keep her in check'. They may have giggled and found it amusing, but Maura didn't. She didn't find it funny that she had problems communicating with living people. Except, she felt that there was something about Jane that made it easy to talk to her. Like she could say anything, and be accepted. _I must be going crazy; I've only talked to her for a brief conversation, once. How could I possibly feel and think these things about her. I'm undoubtedly going crazy._

-x-

They stared each other down, their eyes menacing and fierce. Both of them had their arms in front of them, elbows on the table, one hand interlaced with another holding their chins up; thinking of their next move. To a stranger, the scene would seem like it came from a modern western movie - instead of standing in the streets with revolvers, they were playing a heated game of chess. Their 3rd game, to be exact.

"I think it's fair to say, check mate, lil' brother." Jane tilted her head to the side, smiling cockily at Tommy.

"Ok, yeah. You win. Congratulations, again." Tommy smirked and shook his head in defeat.

"Yup, two out of three. Only because I let you win that one-"

"Bullshit!" They bickered on for a moment, like brother and sister do, until the room's door suddenly swung open to the disapproving face of Mr Henson; the principal.

"What are you two doing in here? I'm quite certain you should be in class… "The two Rizzoli's just stared up at him, speechless. What could they say?

"Uh…" They both murmured, trying to come up with something. It just came out in unintelligible noises. Mr Henson sighed.

"C'mon, you two. Come with me to the front office; I don't think I need to tell you you're in trouble, do I?" The two of them shook their heads 'no' and stood, walking lazily with the principal.

"Can you not call our parents? Please? They have a lot on their plate at the moment-" Jane started and got cut off by the elder.

"What I'm sure is a well-rehearsed story, I'm not buying it. I will be calling your parents and that's final."

She gaped at him, then closed her mouth and tried to contain her anger. Usually, Jane wouldn't argue. She knows better than to argue, but something just cracked inside of her and she needed to lash out.

"NO! It is _not_ a made up story. I'm very serious! So don't tell me any different. My parents _actually_ have a lot on their plate. They're having a rough time and they don't need this burden so don't call them!"

"Yeah, what Jane said!" Tommy chimed in.

"Excuse me, young lady-"

"DON'T 'YOUNG LADY' ME!"

"That's it, you're getting double punishment; and so are you, Tommy, for encouraging her. And probably influencing her bad behaviour too."

Jane and Tommy were both outraged. Just because Tommy screwed up a lot, doesn't mean he's a bad influence or a bad kid. "That was so out of line, Tommy. He shouldn't have of said that bullshit." Jane whispered to her brother, who was now clenching _his_ fists and grinding _his_ teeth and giving death eyes to _her - _and Mr Henson. _It must be a Rizzoli thing_ Jane thought.

"I know. He's a fucking prick, Jane. He won't listen. Good job telling him though." He offered a smile through his enraged state.

"Thanks bro. We'll be alright."


	4. Why Am I Even Here?

**A/N Finally another chapter! I had about three quarters of this written, hoping to upload it on Christmas Eve (well, Australia's Christmas Eve). But I got lazy, and I didn't end up finishing till yesterday. Hope everyone's holidays were epic! A review would be greatly appreciated, I need to know if this story is going alright. **

**Enjoy, x.**

"Yes, I had to let you know. Ok- yes I'm sure it was her. It was also T- Yes ok. Alright Mrs Rizzoli. Thank you for your time. Bye." Mr Henson hung up the phone, and returned to his hobby of the day - sporting smug 'you're fucked' glares to troubled teenagers. "So your mother was informed and you'll be having a detention today and lunch and tomorrow at lunch." _Bbbzzzzzzzzz. _"There's the bell; off you go to Ms Bromley in your detention in C12."

Jane and Tommy stood and shuffled out of the principal's office and to their half hour of being detained. They took their time, dawdling and such; even though the classroom was close to the office, they managed to take 5 minutes to get there.

"Rizzoli, Rizzoli. Take a seat, _away_ from each other. Thank you." Ms Bromley ushered them into the room and motioned to the tables. There were 3 other people in there apart from them; two boys and another girl. One boy, Dave, was nervous looking. He looked straight ahead and had arms folded in from of him on the table. The other, Jeremy was one of the schools famous dickheads, and was sitting slouched and noisily chewing gum. The girl, Katrina, was slumped in her chair, fidgeting and trying to amuse herself. Tommy sat in the back left corner, and Jane sat two seats away from him. "I just have to pop over to the staffroom for a moment. NO TALKING!" She left, closing the door behind her.

As she left, Jeremy turned around to face Jane and Tommy; he was sitting in the second of the five rows, third of the columns - same column as Jane. "SO, Dyke, Fuck-Up, what are you two doing in here? Oh, and where's your brother, Suck Up Douche?"

"Shut the fuck up, Jeremy. It's none of your fucking business. Did you get caught popping your mum's oestrogen pills again?" Tommy spoke, dirty smirk on his face and pissed off as fuck.

"You fucking asked for it man!" Jeremy leapt out of his chair and strode towards Tommy, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up by it. He raised his fist and pounded Tommy right in the jaw. Tommy fell to the floor, Jeremy straddling him and laying into the other side of his face. Jane leapt up to pull them apart, but Jeremy pushed her back down. "Fuck of, Dyke!"

Jane, now on her ass, got back up and laid her fist into his face. He fell back, grabbing onto his face and whining whilst Jane attended to her brother, shaking her fist. "You ok, little bro?" She grabbed him by the shoulders and helped him sit up.

"Yeah I'm ok. Nice right hook! How's your fist?" Tommy asked holding his face.

"Its fine, thanks. Your nose is bleeding, c'mon get up."

Tommy stood, with his sisters help and they both looked over to Jeremy who was just standing up himself.

"I won't tell if you won't, you know how this goes." Even though Jeremy was a royal douche and frequently didn't do his work and stuffed up in class, his mother still believed he was a saint and that he would never hurt a fly.

"Fine." The three of them quickly went back to their seats, the boys trying to cover up the bruises on their faces by wiping away blood and pretending to sleep on the desk. Ms Bromley strode back in a moment later carrying a folder which contained the detention roll and numerous other papers. She called the roll out and by the time she was done, the bell had gone for next period and everyone upped and left straight away.

-x-

_**What happened at Maura's lunch. **_

Maura exited fourth period's classroom swiftly, trying to avoid Elle finding out where she was heading; she should've walked faster.

"Maura! Where were you going? Oh well doesn't matter, c'mon," Elle grabbed Maura's forearm and lightly tugged, dragging her in the opposite direction and to the cafeteria. "Let's go to the group, we missed you at lunch."

She had a tone in her voice Maura couldn't quite place. _Cynical maybe? Definitely controlling - just as she is. _Maura couldn't say no, she was too nice. That and if she was ever disowned from that group, she'd have nowhere to go. The geeks wouldn't accept her because she was a cheerleader, even though she was probably just as smart, if not smarter, than most of them.

"Alright, to sit with the group it is." Maura forced a smile and walked on with Elle. They paced in silence, Elle waving and blowing kisses to random people along the way. Maura rolled her eyes at every random act of affection. When they reached the table in the cafeteria their group was at, they slid into their seats without a word and everyone started talking to Elle, not Maura. Maura sat there in silence; no one asked her where she was at lunch, nobody asked why she wasn't there, nobody missed her - nobody at all. _She lied. Why am I even here? I can't wait to go home, and that's saying something. _

I'm liking the use of our friend's names and the reference to the music room, made me laugh a little, I imagined Ms Bromley to be like Ms whatsherface (you know the English teacher we had who wouldn'


	5. Dear Diary

**A/N Hello minions! I'm so sorry it has taken so long for me to update. School holidays = writers block. Sadly, I have to go back to school in like, 12 days I think - around that. So, I'm pretty sure this chapter is longer than usual, but you guys deserve it. Beta'd by Captain Symmetry as per usual.**

**Also, to those reading Fix You, we're still kind of brainstorming and fighting over who should be writing the next chapter, but we'll get there... eventually. **

**Enjoy! xo**

"JANIE AND TOMMY RIZZOLI!" Angela screamed as the three teens walked through the door. "Hi Frankie, how you doing baby?"

"Good, Ma." Frankie smiled widely at his mum, then went straight to his room - that is, after he shot a 'haha you guys are in trouble glance' to his siblings. Jane and Tommy avoided their mothers gaze and tried to make it to their own rooms. Angela cleared her throat - they weren't going _anywhere_. Well, not without a lecture first.

"Don't you walk away from me! Care to explain to me what happened today at school? Why you were truanting? Why didn't you go to class?" She exclaimed, waving her hands in the air like a typical Italian. The two of them walked heads down towards the chairs in front of the kitchen island, which their mother was standing behind; Tommy had his hood up, so as to hide the bruises on his face. He didn't want to worry his mother any more than he had to; that and he didn't want to have to be here longer than he already was going to. They plonked themselves down in wooden chairs, and kept their gaze on the floor.

"Sorry, ma." They both droned in unison.

"Apology accepted, but I'm still mad. Why did you both skip class?" Angela pushed, her voice raspier than usual from yelling; and probably from crying earlier today. The two minors didn't want to tell their mother the truth as to why they didn't go to class; it would worry her too much. They looked at each other until Jane piped up with an excuse; well, she tried to make up an excuse.

"See, we didn't go because… well we both heard rumours that both our teachers were away sick… which would mean a free period for us. Right? So we went and spent the free period we thought we had playing chess in the chess clubs' room." _Smooth, Rizzoli. You are a genius. _She nodded at her mum, and Tommy nodded towards his mother to confirm Jane's story. Angela thought it over for a moment before buying the story.

"…Well, alright. Just make sure you both actually have free periods before you go off truanting and ruining your education. Ok?"

"Yeah, Ma." A chorus of two echoed through the kitchen, which prompted a grunt from Mama Rizzoli. Tommy and Jane stood, heads still tilted down, and strode off to their rooms.

_SLAM!_

Tommy slammed his door shut behind him, whereas Jane gently closed her door, securing it by locking it behind her. _Tommy gets angry too easily, I hope his face is ok. _She made her way to her desk, reaching for the object she desired before sitting down in her red, fluffy swivel chair and picking up a random pen.

_Dear Diary; _

_It's been a while but I really need to vent. I'm basically going to recap this whole day. It's been absolutely crazy, like seriously. So this morning I woke up and my parents were in the kitchen yelling at each other - I mean they always fight but… this was intense. They were throwing things and… it was a really scary sight. Ma caught me watching through the crack of my door, and told me not to worry and go to school basically. _

_I left for school, and then I went straight to the auditorium to play the piano - as I do. Piano just calms me, it's just so beautiful. I would never admit to anyone I actually enjoy playing piano, or that I like classical music and opera and such related things. I get bagged out enough as it is, why make it worse?_

_Anyways, I left when the bell rang and someone was calling my name as I walked to class. I tried to ignore her and pass it off as me not being able to hear them, but they caught up with me and talked to me anyway. _

_Her name is Maura, and she's the most __**gorgeous**__ person I have ever seen. _

_She's a cheerleader, a popular girl. So naturally, she's out of my league and I should hate her for being a stuck up bitch anyway. But she's not like that - AT ALL! I mean, she spoke so proper. She explained where the word piano came from and well - she's a smart cheerleader. __**There are no smart cheerleaders.**__  
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_But she's impressive. She seriously went out of her way just to tell me I was good at piano - oh yeah, she was sitting in the auditorium whilst I was playing. I don't know why she followed me in there but… she thinks I'm good? I mean… holy shit. That's kinda awesome. She, Maura Isles, thinks I'm good at something. _

_Ok I just read what I wrote and it sounds stupid but, no. I mean, she's perfect and I'm… nothing compared to her. So for her to say that… wow. _

_Anyway, I played it off as I didn't care about her and yeah. I went and played again at Recess too, and I swear she was in there; that or I'm hearing things. So yeah all day, and even now, I've been upset about Ma and Pop fighting… So after Recess Tommy and I met up and decided to jig class. Of course, Frankie didn't because he's a goodie two-shoes. I love that about him though, I hope he never gets in to trouble; we're such bad influences. _

_Well, we got caught. We got detention too AND Mr Henson, because he's a fucking prick, rang Ma and told her. She's upset, we didn't want to upset her more! FFFFUUUU! Oh yeah, and in detention Tommy got punched by that dick Jeremy, and he punched him back anyway. Then I got pushed back down by Jeremy, and so I punched him. Nobody except the kids in detention know, but surely enough Ma will find out sooner or later. _

_But Jeremy called me a dyke. So not only was I punching him for Tommy, but for me, because of what he said… I don't know how everyone found out anyway. I mean, it was two years ago. I still have only two friends; Barry and Vince. I love those guys, they're so awesome. They accept me and they'll never dog me - not like all those girls I use to hang out with. Sigh… _

_Anyways - _

Jane heard her mother call out to her and her two brothers from the kitchen to come here.

_- hang on, Ma's calling me… _

She returned, dropping carelessly into her chair, a look of shock mixed with fear and pain marring her face.

_Oh my god… My parents are getting a divorce. _

A tear or two dropped onto the page she was writing on, luckily not hitting any of the writing.

_I can't believe this is happening. I mean, no, no. They always fight, we're Italian for God's sake! This I - I don't believe it. This is just a thing for them, they'll forget about it in the morning… I know they will. _

-x-

**Maura's POV.**

"Hello? Mother, Father, I'm home! Is anyone home?" Maura sang out as she strode through the front door to her house. Locking the door behind her, she walked into the kitchen. On the fridge was a sticky note labelled at the top in capital print letters 'MAURA'.

_I have gone to New York for a week. Your father is upstate today, and will be going straight from there to join me in New York for the week. We'll let you know if we happen to stay longer. _

_Mum. xo_

"Great." Maura mumbled under her breath. She let out a sigh of discontent and scrunched up the sticky note, walking over and placing it in the bin next to the kitchen counter. "Alone, as per usual."

Maura dawdled up to her room, in no rush to do anything at all. There was no one she had to try impress, no one to please. There was no one. But she always had someone that would listen; well some_thing _more like. It would listen to all her problems and thoughts and it would never judge her, unlike living people. She never liked people so much, as they never really like her. Although, she loved her pet African Spurred Tortoise, Bass; he also always listened and never judged.

Maura heaved her school bag off of her back and onto her bed. She reached up to the highest shelf in her bookshelf which was next to her bed, grabbing a medium sized, light yellow spiral notebook. Settling down at her desk she reached over to grab a matching light yellow pen with a spiral pattern going up and around it, from her 'pen holder'; her pen holder being a 150mL beaker. Opening the notebook to the next clear page, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

_Dearest diary;_

_I'll keep it to a minimum as I tended to writing in you yesterday, and I need to feed Bass soon and complete homework for almost all of my classes. _

_Something happened today, and I needed to talk about it. As I have no friends to talk about it with - and no, Elle and the group don't count because they're only nice to me because of my athletic skill as a cheerleader. _

_Remember the girl I told you about a month back, on the first day back to school? I remember I said it was the first time I noticed her, and that I can't believe I'd never seen her before. I believe I also said how breathtakingly stunning she was and I commented on her 'sporty' physique. _

_I spoke to her today, but you know what prompted me to? I, very stealthily if I might add, followed her to the auditorium and snuck in to see what she might be doing in there. See, she strode there and her face read… well, I've never been too good at reading human emotions, but I believe it was anger of some sort. Back to the story though - she was playing piano. _

_It was the most beautiful piece too, I had no idea she could play. Her physique, as I mentioned earlier, doesn't suggest she would play such an instrument, and definitely not hold an interest in classical music. _

_As they say, 'looks can be deceiving'. _

_She has a husky voice, which I wouldn't have of suspected her to have either; admittedly, I find it rather… endearing. I can't stop thinking about her, which is odd, because I've only talked to her briefly and already she's a constant thought. Oh the mind is a confusing thing. _

_I'll stop drabbling now, I must go feed Bass. _

_xo_

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><p><em><strong>Reviews are greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think, it'll make the next chapter come much, much sooner. :)<strong>  
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	6. Wake Up Regimes

_**A/N Hey guys, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I promise i have something good planned for the next chapter. This is just a short chapter to show their differences and such things. Also, as usual, Captain Symmetry (finally) Beta'd this. **  
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_**Also, i went back to school this week. So if updates take longer, that's why. Enjoy.x **  
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_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…_

Jane rolled over to face away from her alarm clock, immediately awoken by the deafening noise. Still half asleep and with her eyes closed, she challenged herself to see how long she could go without having to move to turn it off; as per usual. Not being able to take it anymore after about 10 seconds, she rolled over and reached for the 'snooze' button on the machine, trying several times before she actually hit it. Jane opened her eyes to check the time - _7.00am. _Immediately, lyrics poured into her head and she mentally sang to herself whilst returning to lie on her back and stare at the roof.

_7.00am waking up in the morning, gotta be fresh gotta go downstairs, gotta have my bowl gotta have cereal, seeing everything the time is going. Ticking on and on, everybody's rushing, gotta get down to the bus stop, gotta catch my bus - I see my friends. Kicking in the front seat, sitting in the backseat, gotta make my mind up, which seat can I take? It's Thursday, Thursday, gotta go to school on Thursday- FUCK! I HATE THIS FUCKING CATCHY ASS SONG! _

Jane rubbed her eyes with her fingers, and then rolled herself out of bed, making sure not to stand up too fast. She made her way to the bathroom, part of her usual morning routine. After using the toilet and washing her face and hands, moisturising both, she went back to her bedroom and began planning her attire for the day.

Panning through her wardrobe, Jane mumbled a random tune under her breath, making the room less silent. She pulled out a pair of knee-length black denim shorts, which were thinly folded at the ends. _The weather forecast said it would be warm-ish… so, t-shirt? Yeah, t-shirt seems like a smart idea. _She chucked the shorts on her bed, and looked through her drawers for a t-shirt. _I feel like colours… I don't have __**that**__ many coloured t-shirts though so… Oh, this looks cool! _

Jane dressed in her black shorts, and her yellow Spongebob Squarepants t-shirt. It had an average round neckline - not too low, not too high. It was plain yellow until about a quarter of the way down the shirt, where the top of Spongebob's head started. His figure was the width of the shirt and covered it the whole way down. He was smiling, and facing the left of the shirt - it was a very uplifting shirt. She stood in the mirror, contemplating her look. _It's too boring… maybe I'll add something. Hmm… _

Jane moved back to her wardrobe, skimming over her collection of clothes until finally finding an accessory that she thought may work. Putting it on, she stood back in the mirror, not too sure it suited the look. Black pants, yellow top, black denim vest over the top of her shirt, left un-buttoned. _Not too fancy, not daggy - I think I like it. Although, it's surely fancy for me! I'm so lame… _She chuckled to herself. Turning on her straightener, she thought she'd shake things up a bit today. _I'm going to straighten my hair, and it's going to look good! Dum de dum, dum dum. Gosh I like singing in my head, it actually sounds good then. _Jane smirked and chuckled to herself again, deciding to put some low background music on whilst she waited for her straightener to heat up. Turning her iPod dock on and placing her iPod in it, she chose a playlist and turned the music down to _10._

The sounds of Clare de Lune filled the room, breaking the silence and making it more peaceful. She would never admit it to anyone, but she loved classical music; piano pieces that is. She loved the way it sounded, she loved picturing skilful hands playing the notes and watching them soar over the keys; she loved the feeling of conquering another piece of music, being able to play it and play it more than decently.

As Jane straightened her hair, she hummed along to every score that played. She then went on to make her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth, bringing back black eyeliner, concealer and a cotton bud back into her room. She applied the concealer under her eyes to hide her bags, which really weren't all that bad. Applying her eyeliner, she decided to only do the top lids today, not doing the bottom and using the cotton bud to tidy it up.

Putting on her socks and black converse, she grabbed her already packed bag and headed to the kitchen to grab her lunch and say goodbye to her mother before she left. "Morning, Ma." She leaned over the counter and kissed her mother on the cheek, then leaned back and grabbed her lunch; a brown paper bag, with her name messily scribbled in a black sharpie on the front.

-x-

**Maura's Morning. **

Maura's eyes flashed open to the sound of her alarm clock loudly buzzing beside her head. Taking a few deep breaths to fully wake herself up, she yawned and sat up straight in bed. She turned to her alarm clock lazily and switched off the alarm. _7.00am. _Rubbing her eyes she daintily hopped out of bed, pointing her toes to the ground as she did so; dancer feet. Maura slowly made her way over to her en suite bathroom, shutting the door gently behind her. After using the toilet, she washed her hands and face, then moisturised all of her limbs, her face and anywhere else that felt slightly dry to her. She made her way back to her bedroom to get ready for the day.

Maura had her outfit for the day already planned, as she usually does; not that it didn't take long to pick it out. Today she had planned to wear 'not as girly' clothes as she liked to put it. She'd picked out a pair of dark grey skinny jeans, a plain white, tight tank top which had a cross pattern of the fabric at the top on the back, a baby pink short sleeved cardigan with pearl buttons, and black ballet flats with small bows on the front to top it all off.

Usually, she would wear skirts of any sort - not too short of course - or dresses. Jeans were a very rare thing for Maura, only because she felt they were too plain. Looking in the mirror now, she realised they weren't so plain and that her outfit was still somewhat girly. Maura didn't know why exactly, but after meeting Jane, she wanted to impress her. _I know she'll probably never talk to me again… but if I show her I'm not that girly, maybe she'll want to talk to me. Oh Maura, you know that's rubbish, clothes don't define or change a person's personality. She probably doesn't even think of you… you'll always be plain no matter what you wear. _Maura thought to herself, then audibly sighed.

Maura walked away from the mirror and decided today she would leave her hair how it was. Every day, she would straighten her naturally wavy/curly hair, just because everyone else did - this was another way Maura tried to fit in that didn't help. She loved her hair how it was naturally styled, and wasn't exactly keen on straightening it every morning. She sat at her dresser and brushed out all the knots out of her caramel blonde hair, pinning her fringe back in a styled twist.

Picking up her one of her favourite perfumes, Halle Berry's 'Reveal', she lightly sprayed her chest, and wrists. She put on her usual jewellery - a gold banded ring with an amethyst stone in the shape of a heart and small diamonds either side, which went on her ring finger on her right hand, a thin gold chain around her left wrist, and a necklace with a gold chain and small gold pendant of a tortoise with emeralds making up the tortoises' shell. Other people thought - and had actually told her - that the tortoise pendant was lame, it was never complimented; that was one thing Maura didn't care if anyone liked or not. Her mother (her adoptive mother that is) had given it to her, claiming it was once her birth mothers.

Maura picked up her already packed bag and turned anything electronic off in her room, grabbing her iPhone on the way out. She walked downstairs and grabbed her already made lunch from the fridge; a salad sandwich wrapped in gladwrap, and a small, blue container full of blueberries. She packed them in her bag and headed off for school.


	7. Gym Class Heroes

**A/N Hello, hello! Long time, no see, right? I apologize immensely, really, I do. I'm pretty sure I haven't updated since I went back to school, so about 6 weeks ago. SORRY! School is so hectic, you wouldn't believe it. I proof read this myself, so any mistakes are mine. Please review and let me know your thoughts. They're always so nice and it makes me feel awesome. It may also make me write faster… **

**Enjoy xo! **

Jane walked out of the locker room and into the gym, as did everyone else in her PE class. Although, as she entered the gym she noticed people from completely different PE classes to her sitting among people in her PE class. She walked over to the bleachers and took a seat by herself (as she usually did) and turned up her music, then changing the song. _Music, Artists, Mayday Parade, A Lesson In Romantics, When I Get Home You're So Dead. Ah, I love this song, Mayday is so __**awesome**__. _She had only one earphone in, for when the teacher came in and she knew she was talking. Although, Jane's PE teacher didn't walk in - one of the other classes' teacher walked in by herself; Mrs Drewingle. Mrs Drewingle was about in her late 30's, and was always super nice and never crabby. She was about 5"4' in height, had shoulder length, blonde wavy hair, and perfect teeth; also surprisingly, no wrinkles. So, realistically, she was very good looking for her age.

"Morning kiddies! Now, unfortunately Miss Sarfati and Ms Williams are running late today, as they carpooled together and there was traffic on some road somewhere and… The point is we're combining all three PE classes of this morning into one. Now, I'm going to give you a number and it'll be your team number. We'll be playing rotation volleyball, which is where…" Mrs Drewingle kept on speaking, but Jane had glazed over and tuned out completely, putting her earphone back in her left ear. She knew how to play rotation volleyball, as did every other person in the room; they played it at least once every two weeks, and have been since the start of high school. Miss went around the room giving everyone a number - either one, two or three - which took forever because of all the people in the room; Jane estimated there to be at least 85 people, give or take. "Two." Miss pointed at Jane quickly giving her a number before continuing on. _That's my lucky number, woo! Oh wait; I hate everyone in here… Not woo, not woo at all. _

Jane glanced around the room, trying to amuse herself by mentally commenting on people - if she saw anyone worth criticising, that is. Right up the back in the next set of seats to Jane, was Maura. She was reading some science magazine of sorts, which according to Maura's facial expressions was quite fascinating - it almost made Jane want to read it, and she hated Science. Jane silently wished Maura was given the same team number as her, when she was broken from her reverie by Miss yelling out to everyone "Ok teams one and two out on the floor! Team three, just relax and sit tight!"

Taking out her earphone and wrapping them around her iPod, she shoved it in her bag and strode down to the gym floor. When she was down there, she looked up to where Maura was sitting expecting to see her there; her seat was empty though. She turned to face behind her, which was away from the net, to spot Maura standing a few metres away from her near the edge of the court, staring into space with her hands clasped together on one hip. Jane quickly glanced away, just as Maura glanced to her. Unknown to Jane, Maura smiled coyly at the thought of merely being in the same room as Jane. _Wow, I'm so lame_ thought Maura.

The two teams on the court played for two sets, each winning one and putting them in a draw. They were in the middle of the third and deciding set. Up until then, almost everyone had put in an equal amount of effort, and no one had injured themselves; although some new girl had a mini asthma attack, but she had her puffer on her so nobody really cared. They were all in the middle of a rally, when suddenly Jane went in for a dig from a metre away; running in and sliding on her knees and accidently tripping, face planting into the hardwood floor of the gym. The gym was abruptly much quieter, the game stopping and everyone staring at Jane. Jane, who was now slowly sitting up and groaning whilst holding her face with one hand, blood seeping down through her fingers and down her chin, and her other hand grasping at her left ankle.

"HOLY SHIT! FFFUUUUU!" Jane mumbled loudly through her hand, whilst people crowded around her, not making any effort to help her. The teacher had conveniently left the gym right before this incident.

"Excuse me, sorry, please move out of the way…" A stern and familiar voice approached Jane. Making her way through the crowd, she made it to Jane, after receiving numerous glares from the people standing by. Maura moved to kneel down next to Jane, and the crowd dispersed. "Ouch, that uh… looks like it causes you a copious amount of pain."

"Yah think, Maur?" Jane spat at her, voice laced with sarcasm and pain. Maura couldn't help but smile a little at the fact Jane had just used something of a nickname for her. _No one's ever done that. Does that mean she accepts me as a friend…? _ Maura gently batted away Jane's hands from her face and caressed her cheeks with both her hands, tilting it from side to side, examining her nose. _She has such beautiful eyes…_ Maura released her grip on Janes face and moved to her ankle. Being careful not to pain her more, Maura straightened out Jane's leg and examined her ankle. She remained examining it as she began to speak.

"Well, I can easily pop your nose back into place, but I'm afraid I can't do much for your ankle, as I'm not equipped with proper materials and equipment needed to aid it." Maura looked up from the ankle to Jane, whose eyes were popping out of her head. Maura leaned over to grab Janes face again, slowly moving her hands to her nose, and cracking it into place.

"OUCH!" Jane grabbed at her nose again, whilst Maura stood and offered Jane a hand. She took it, still holding her nose with one hand. Unable to stand on both feet, Jane placed a hand on Maura's shoulder for support. Maura returned the gesture, putting her arm around Jane's shoulders, holding her up and helping her walk to sick bay.

"You'll need to hold ice to your nose, that way it won't swell up." The rest of the walk was silent, neither girl looking at each other, creating a tense and awkward atmosphere between them.

-x-

"Alright then deary, here is some ice for your nose. And I have to rush out, so here is a bandage and clip. I'm sure your lovely friend here can put that on for you. After all, she did pop your nose in to place," The nurse turned to Maura "I don't know how you knew to do that, but you did a good job. Now if you'll both excuse me, I do apologize." And with that, the school nurse took off out the door.

"Well, _this_ is new. Usually, when I've hurt myself, the nurse _doesn't _run out and get somebody else to do her job for her." Jane chuckled, and exchanged a quick glance at Maura, looking away as soon as it seemed to happen. She could feel her cheeks warming up; so could Maura.

"The nurse did apologize, and she had a valid excuse. I don't think she would have of done that if I weren't here with you, though." Maura smiled at Jane, and then moved off of the bed to kneel in front of Jane. "Lift your ankle onto my thighs." Maura began to administer the bandage slowly, making sure it wasn't too tight, yet tight enough to serve a purpose.

Jane stared at Maura the whole time, admiring and taking in all of her features. She loved hazel eyes; better yet, she loved _Maura's _hazel eyes. Jane had felt the softness of Maura's skin when she was helped out of the gym, and she longed to touch it again; she wanted to run her hands up her arms, all over her body and… _No Rizzoli, bad Rizzoli. You should stop falling for straight girls, seriously. It's only ever made your life shit; plus, she's so out of your league. _

"Uh… Maura?"

"Yes, Jane?" Maura put her handiwork on pause, and looked up.

"Thankyou… for fixing up my ankle and fixing my nose and stuff."

"You are very welcome, Jane." Maura flashed a bright smile to Jane, receiving an equally bright one in return. She then proceeded to return to bandaging up Jane.

Maura eventually finished bandaging up Jane's ankle, running her hand up Jane's shin and back down to the end of her toes with a feather light touch. _My gosh, her skin is so smooth. How I'd love to feel it more… Stop Maura, stop whilst you are ahead._ Jane gasped at the touch, and Maura was too caught up in her own thoughts to notice; luckily for Jane. "Well, I suppose you'll need crutches. Also, that bag of ice the nurse gave you should be pressed against your nose, not sitting on the bed. I'll go look in this cupboard here for crutches."

"But it's so cold! Ugh are you sure I'll need crutches, I'm sure I'll be _fine_ without them. Truly, I will." Jane complained, Maura thought it was adorable. But she knew that Jane would really need crutches, her ankle was sprained pretty badly. Maura smirked at Jane, and stood to walk to the cupboard. Opening the doors, she found a pair of crutches right inside the door; she thought she ought to leave a note for the nurse, so she wouldn't be wondering where her pair of crutches had disappeared to later.

"Here, take these whilst I write a note for the nurse, explaining to her about the extent of your injuries and that you needed to borrow her set of crutches for the day." Maura explained, passing the sticks to Jane, who was looking slightly bewildered. Maura walked over to the desk, writing on the sticky-note pad. The room was silent for a moment.

"Y'know, you like to say a lot of words for just one simple thing." Jane spoke up breaking the silence that had struck up between them. Maura had just finished writing her note and turned to Jane.

"I know. I often find myself inebriated by the exuberance of my own verbosity." Maura smiled widely at Jane, knowing she'd confused her, given the look on her face.

"Yeah, ok then… So what do I do with this ice-pack now?"


End file.
